Where I Belong

This book has an extremely eye-catching front cover, but I found it fairly slow until nearly the middle of the book. Written in three voices - Abdi (a half Dutch and half Somalian boy living in London), Khadija (the beautiful Somalian girl trying to earn money in England to send back to her struggling family) and Freya (daughter of a famous fashion designer), at times it was difficult to separate the voices, especially those of Abdi and Khadija. The three teenagers' lives become entwined when Freya's mother decides she want Khadija as her next model, and their alternating voices provides different points of view and propels the story forward.

Amid the cold, grey of England and the sun soaked desert of Somali the teenagers must deal with show more family betrayals, threats, unwanted media attention and the glamorous world of the fashion industry. show less

This is the story of Abdi; Khadija and Freya. Who all meet in London. Khadija is smuggled into England by a fixer, and housed with Abdi. Freya is the daughter of a very successful designer mother and photographer father. Her parents are seperated but friendly. When her mother is inspired by a visit to Somalia to create a collection she decides to showcase it with the help of Khadija, building a sense of anticipation about the entire thing. However things turn sour when Khadija's brother is kidnapped for ransom.

It's an interesting story, I liked how the author got a sense of different people in the three different narratives. Interesting look at different worlds through different eyes.

There aren't many novels written about Somalia and targeted toward teens. When Khadija is smuggled into England she goes to live with Abdi and his family. One day a famous fashion designer spots her on the street and wants her as a model. Khadija agrees because her brother has just been kidnapped in Somalia and she needs to pay his ransom.
This is a slow moving story told in three alternating points of view. It is about families and homeland and what you'll do to save them.

Interesting, fast-moving suspense with an intriguing international flavor.